Did I watch a theatre play or a TV drama? What a masterpiece. «Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born» («정년이») gave us an unforgettable finale, and Kim Taeri (김태리), Shin Yeeun (신예은), and Woo Davi (우다비) absolutely delivered. These three? My absolute favourites. Here's why it stood out: 1. The editing? Flawless. 2. They filmed the theatre scenes as if it was a real performance. It didn’t just feel authentic—it _was_ authentic. 3. Every scene mattered. No fluff, no fillers. Just storytelling that hits hard. 4. They focused on what’s real: the relationships, the struggles, the rawness of being an actor, singer, or dancer. It wasn’t just about glitz and glamour. It was blood, sweat, and tears. Now, about that finale. If you’re going to watch it, do it right. Big screen. Full volume. No distractions. It felt so much like a real theatre experience I caught myself clapping with the fictional audience, tearing up, and giving them a standing ovation. Honestly, I don’t know if I just watched «Jeongnyeon» or an actual stage play. That’s how good it was. 100 over 10 stars to the cast, crew, writer, and everyone who brought this story to life. And a huge salute to every artist out there who pours their soul into their craft. You are seen. You are celebrated.

Kim Taeri as lead in this show was no doubt intentional, we can go as far as to say this was written with her in mind. Theatre is her turf after all. Theatre actors are actually the best screen actors too. It's why those who started on-screen are advised to go into theatre acting so they can hone their skills and learn the secrets in acting. In the West, Sir Patrick Stewart, known for the roles Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier, started as a theatre actor. His American counterparts in Star Trek: The Next Generation often shared how he changed the show and how they learned acting from him (they're already established actors). It's why Kim Taeri is so good herself. Even though her theatre scenes in this show were scripted, you can actually see her threatre acting in full display. I wouldn't be surprise if all they did was roll the camera continuously, and let everything happen naturally. 🙃🙂 The editing director probably had an easy time as well for the Kim Taeri theatre scenes. Whenever it's Kim Taeri's theatre scenes, it is as if we're watching a fan camera of a real live theatre play. You can see the difference in her acting, theatre vs on-screen. Kim Taeri is being full-on theatre actor mode when she's in a theatre scene. On-sceen mode when in everything else. Truly a legend. No, a goddess.

I was led to this show by a clip I saw on social media. I tracked it down to Disney and was instantly captured by the first episode. The lead was bigger than life and so interesting but it took me a full episode to realize it was Kim Tae-ri (I swear the woman ages backwards). This series features the art of gukgeuk* and pansori, and interweaves plays within plays. The parallels between the life of the performers and the plays they perform are subtle and quite gorgeous. All the principals performers in this series are remarkable but levelling up Shin Ye-run against Tae-Ri is pure magic. The villain makes the hero and vice versa. The production is masterful and moving. I am battling whether I give this series a 9 (exceptional) or 10 (perfect). For more information on this Korean art form see this Wikipedia article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changgeuk?wprov=sfti1